Prosecutors charged Snowden with espionage, theft and conversion of government property, officials told the Post.

Snowden, who held a top secret clearance, admittedly leaked documents detailing two government surveillance programs. At the time of the leaks, he was an employee of defense contractor Booz Allen Hamilton.

The United States has asked Hong Kong to detain Snowden, the newspaper reported.

The complaint was filed in the Eastern District of Virginia, the Post reported. A spokeswoman for the Justice Department would not comment to the newspaper.